, 1887-05-28
mo IIAID PAWN"

1t was a ghostly place In broad daylight, II
tho giininler that stole In through tho dense
forest that surrounded 1t when the sun was
directly overhead deserved this delusive
nnne. AT any other time 1t we
wore afraid even to tax about It'll and as to
venturing within its gloomy borders, it was
currently believed among US tliatto dose was
TO bring upon tho intruder certain death. I
knew oyery foot OF ground. wet and dry,
within five miles of my fathers house except
this plantation. for 1 had hunted by day and
night every field, forest and marsh within
that radius; but the swamp and "ma'shes"
TINT surrounded this place / had never in
Vaded- Tho boidest hunter ON the plantation
would call on his dogs and go home IL they
struck a trail TINT crossed tho sobby boundary
line of "No Haid Pawn"
At length the property had fallen to one
more gloomy, more strange, and more sinister
than any ono who had gone before him-a
man whose personal characteristics and habits
were unique in that country. He was OF
gigantic stature and superhuman strength,
and possessed appetites and vices In proper.
ton to his size. He could fell An or with n
blow OF his fist, or In a ft Of anger could tear
down tho branch Of a tree or bend a bar of
iron like a reed. He, either from caprice or
ignorance, spoke only a patois not unlike the
creole French Of the Louisiana parishes. But
he was a West Indian. His brutal temper
and habits cut him Off from even the small
measure OF intercourse which had existed bo-
tween his predecessors and their neighbors,
and lie lived at No Had Pawn completely
isolated. All the stories and traditions of the
place at once conferred on him, and fabulous
tales were told of his proves and Of his life.
1t was said, among other things, that he pre-
served his wonderful strength by drinking
human blood, a tale which In certain sense
l have never seen reason to question. Max
ing all allowances, mis- life was a blot upon
civilization. At length 1t eliminated. A
brutal temper, infamed by unbridled pas
sions, after a long period OF license and de-
bauchery, came to n climax in a final orgy of
ferocity and fury, In which be was guilty of
an act whose fendishnsss surpassed belief,
and be was brought 70 Judgment.
In modern times tho very 1~nbumsnity Of
the crime would probably have proved his
security, and as he had destroyed his own
property while he was perpetrating a crime
OF appalling and unparalleled horror, he
might have found a defense in that standing
refuge Of extraordinary scoundrelism-in-
sanity. This defense, indeed, was put In. and
was pressed with much ability by his counsel,
one of whom was my father, who had just
n been admitted to the bar; but fortu.
lately for the cause OF Justice, neither courts
nor juries were then 30 sentimental as they
have become OF late years, and the last occu-
pant OF No Had Pawn paid under the law
tho full penalty Of his hideous crime. 1t was
one Of the curious incidsntsof the trial that
his negroes all lamented his death and de-
clared that he was a good master when he
was not drunk. He was hanged just at the
rear OF his own house, within sight of the
sNnt xvhaea lfu /. xwf,i ,~;,, $50. .~k4@.l
AT his execution, which, according to the
custom or the country, was public, a horrible
coincidence occurred which furnished the
text OF r1any a sermon on retributive Justice
among the negroes.
The body was inferred near the pond, close
by the thicket, where the negroes were buried;
but the negroes declared that it preferred one
Of the stone chambers under the mansion,
where it made its home, and that 1t might be
seen at any time OF the day or night stalking
hendless nbout the place. They used to dwell
with peculiar zest on the most agonizing
details of this wretch's dreadful crime, the
whole eliminating in the finaisetof maniacal
fury when the gigantic monster dragged the
hacked and headless corpse OF his victim up
the staircase and stood 1t up before the open
window In his hall, In the full view Of the
terrified slaves. After these narrntions, the
continued temperance OF the murderer and
his hendless victim was as natural TO US as it
was to the negroes themselves; and, as night
after night se would hurry up TO the great
house through the darkness, we were ever on
tho watch lest he should appear to our
trighted vision from the shades OF the shrub
berry filed yard.
Thus it was that Of all gbostly places No
Haid Pawn had the distinction OF being In
vested, to US, with unparalleled horror, and
thus 70 us, no loss than because the dykes had
given away and the overlooked fats had
turned again to swamp and jungle, 1t was ex-
plicable that No Haid Pawn was abandoned,
and was now untrodden by any foot but that
OF its ghostly tenants,
The tune of my story was 1885,. The spring
previous continuous rains had kept the river
full and had flooded the low grounds, and
this had been followed by an exceptionally
dense growth in the summer. Then, public
feeling mas greatly excited at the time of
which ] write over the discovery In the
neighborhood Of several emissaries Of the un-
dergrould railway, or-as they were uni
v~erSally considered in that counfry-of the
devil. They had been run Off or had disap-
peared suddenly, but had left behind them
some little excitement on the part OF the
slaves, and a great deal on the part OF their
masters, and more than the usual number of
negroes Ind run away An, However, had
been caught or had returned home after a
sufficient interval of freedom, except one who
had escaped permanently and who was sup
posed TO have accompanied his i~nstigators on
their flight.
This mar was a well known character. He
belonged to one OF our neishtors, and had
been bought and brought there from an es-
tate on the Lower Mississippi. He was tho
most brutal negro | eyer knew. He was OF .